Webmasters and even bloggers have to think about 404 error pages and what to display or show on them. This thesis tutorial will explain how one can modify their 404 error page using the Thesis theme.
With the normal thesis theme 404 error page, there is just no appeal to the user who landed there. The page is plain and simple. One can pimp the 404 error page by adding an image, search box, tags, recent and popular posts, etc.
Remember to backup your custom_functions.php file.
By using my Thesis tutorial, one will be adding an 404 error image, a search box, recent and popular posts. One could go further and add more details for the user, but that is your choice.
At this stage many bloggers out there have the basic error page and one should definitely look at customizing the page. A user could leave your site if he/she lands on this page and you want to retain them and help them browsing your site.
You can have a look at my thesis theme 404 error page by copying any post link and adding any character/s to make it an invalid link. You could add tags or any other details to make it more appealing. I have just given you the baseline which you could build on.
Thesis Tutorial - Pimping your 404 Error Page
The download was made available on 22 March 2010 and is in zip format. The file size is 1.3 KB and has currently been downloaded 363 times.
Final Thought
Have you got a customized 404 error page? Let me know and I will have a look at it. Your error page is very important and should not be neglected. What is the best error page that you have seen? All opinions or feedback are welcomed, so let me know what you think.
I am the proud owner of Serradinho.com and have made this my second home. I'm into blogging, downloads, WordPress, meeting and helping others, etc. Basically the internet in general :) Serradinho Web Services is my own company whereby I offer my services to clients. This ranges from web design, website upgrades, theme customizations, support, premium WordPress plugins and many more .....
View all posts by George Serradinho, there might be other posts that interest you.
{ 32 comments }
hi george
what if I want to adding an image, search box, tags, recent and popular posts, etc. in the search results page
For example: if I search on “handphone” in this blog the search results page will look like this
“Sorry, but no results were found
Do not give up-try another search! ”
url: http://www.serradinho.com/Blog/?s=handphone
@Smart Blogs – Hi there, I got your email and I am looking into it. I also searched a bit and found very little so this is a bit more intensive. I will let you know when I have a solution for you.
Thank you george your tutorial helped me a lot, hopefully you can find a solution
.-= Smart Blogs´s last blog ..Fujifilm FinePix XP10 Digital Camera =-.
I guess you can do that using widgets. You have created sidebar and footer widgets in your theme. Similarly create one for search and 404 error page.
Insert the widget in proper place to make it work according to your wish. You can add virtually anything using this widgets to your search page. Hope it helps.
.-= Ricky´s last blog ..Download BOLT 2.0 Beta Free Mobile Web Browser =-.
@Ricky – one could use widgets, but you also need to keep the number of widgets to a minimum. It creates additional queries to DB. I would rather code the pages as it’s better.
Great Tut! It helps me lot!!!
.-= Minh´s last blog ..Giờ Trái Đất 2010 – Tắt điện, Bật tương lai =-.
I really have to get on the 404 thing; I keep pushing it aside.
Non-Thesis for me though.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..Would You Like a FREE Banner Ad Position? =-.
@Dennis – you could use the details in my tutorial and then edit your 404.php file. It should work, let me know if you need assistance and don’t push it aside as it should take you less than 5 minutes to set up. Set it up and forget about it.
I will, and thanks for the help. It will have to wait a bit though unfortunately. My latest post explains why. UGH.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..Holy Power Outage Batman, Not Again! Yep, Another Two Days Shot to Hell… =-.
The next thing i will do is to pimp my 404 error page, maybe i am losing some traffic becuse i have not changed my 404 page yet.
.-= Gautam Hans @ Blog Godown´s last blog ..Top Tips for Finding a Great Content Writer =-.
@Gautam Hans – that’s the attitude I like to see, let me know if you need assistance or help. Good luck and let me know when done so that I can have a look for myself. Maybe I learn a bit from you, you never know
I see your 404 page displays ’404. The requested page was not found’ and then the rest of the page is empty. This is your chance to utilize the page better and try and help the user or guide them.
I would prefer not having users end up at the 404 page at all
But it seems like a good idea to at least have the search box and recent posts there, though. I’l see if there’s a way for me to find out how often a 404 page is displayed to determine whether or not it’s worth modifying it.
.-= Klaus @ TechPatio´s last blog ..First Windows Phone 7 Ad (+ Fun Bonus Video) =-.
@Klaus – be sure to have a 404 error page as many might land up there. If they don’t go to the 404 page, where would you send them? I would like to know as it might be interesting, at least for me to know. It should not take to long to set it up as many themes already have a 404 error page, it just means customizing it to your liking.
What I meant was, the 404 page should be the least viewed page on the entire site
If people see the 404 page it means you have made links that doesn’t work anymore (or if somebody external is linking wrong to you, in which case changing the 404 page to include a search box and recent posts, is of course a good idea).
I wonder if there’s an easy way to find out how often ’404′ is displayed on a WP/Thesis blog.
.-= Klaus @ TechPatio´s last blog ..Google China Redirect Now Also Censured =-.
@Klaus – one could use Google Analytics to see how often it is being called or use a plugin that counts the page views.
It is really troulesome. How much is the thesis theme?
.-= Palabuzz´s last blog ..Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera spending some time on Benguet this Holy Week =-.
Personal Option $87
Developer’s Option $164
.-= Minh´s last blog ..Miễn phí 3 Google Adwords Credits trị giá 50$/Credit =-.
@Minh – thanks for answering that for me. I know it sounds expensive, but the customizations out-weigh the cost and all.
@Palabuzz – you can click on any of the Thesis theme banners on my site and it will take you to the site and then you can have a look and see other features and benefits for yourself. Let me know if you have nay questions.
Nice post mate…the thing I like about all your posts is that you provide a simple plug-n-play by writing the function in a file for download!!
Can you please do a post on contact forms? That’s ont of the trickiest parts of code…
@Avinash – I did it that way to make it easier. If there is css styling for the function, then I add it as well. One can download it and then keep it for later use.
But I don’t want my picture to be taken!!
The default 404 was boring so I made some changes to mine too. Sometimes throwing a Google AdSense ad on the 404 works too if you want to squeeze some money out of it
.-= Michael Aulia´s last blog ..Why becoming a product reviewer is not as easy as you thought – Part 2 =-.
I might be wrong Michael but I think Google doesn’t quite like Adsense on 404 error pages….
@Avi D – I never knew that, but will keep it in mind. Thanks for your feedback
@Michael – yes, trying to squeeze money could work. One has to try at least.
404 Error is the worst part in blogging, Now I am going to change in all my blogs as soon as possible. Thanks for sharing tutorial.
.-= Whiztechy´s last blog ..Blogger To Wordpress Migration Professional Service Launched =-.
@Whiztechy – no problem buddy, good to know that some users are making the changes to better the users experience.
I have applied this for a while and it seems works very well and it can help keep our readers stay longer. Thanks George!
.-= Tinh´s last blog ..HostGator Released New Affiliate System! =-.
Hello,
Great post. I am having a little trouble adding the code to my functions file. It is throwing an error on the site.
The Page you requested can not be found.
Search Blog
Use the search box below to search for specific posts with specific keywords.
<form method="get" id="searchform" action="/”>
<input size="35" type="text" value="Search – Type & hit enter” onfocus=”if(this.value==this.defaultValue)this.value=”;” onblur=”if(this.value==”)this.value=this.defaultValue;” name=”s” id=”s” />
This should list posts that would help you, if not then use my contact page.
Most Recent Posts:
have_posts()) : $recent->the_post();?>
<a href="” rel=”bookmark” title=”">
Most Popular Posts
get_results(“SELECT comment_count,ID,post_title FROM $wpdb->posts ORDER BY comment_count DESC LIMIT 0 , 10″);
foreach ($result as $post) {
setup_postdata($post);
$postid = $post->ID;
$title = $post->post_title;
$commentcount = $post->comment_count;
if ($commentcount != 0) { ?>
<a href="” title=”">
{ Comments}
<?php }
@Judd I had a look at the code you mentioned above and you need to check the doubled quotes. When a copy and paste is done, sometimes the the double quotes change. Please have a look at the code you pasted in your functions file and let me know if you still need help.
nice man i’ve applied it to my thesis theme based blog TheAPPSPLANET . Thanks for posting man. Cool Stuff… Now my 404 page looks cool showing 10 recent posts and 10 popular, wow….
@tangologix – I had a look and see you are using my 404 image. It would be nice if you came up with your own, just my opinion.
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